The Death of Jeremy Gilbert
by aGuiltyPleasure4u
Summary: Picks up where the season 1 finale left off. Katherine's kidnapped Jeremy, claiming she wants to help him with his transition.
1. Chapter 1

Jeremy felt his lids grow heavy as his head slumped down against his pillows. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut tighter, block out all possible glimpses of earthly light coming in, but he couldn't. The pills in his system made sure of that. They made him drowsy, unable to control anything. Even if he'd wanted to change his mind, open his eyes, wake up, live... those pills would guarantee otherwise. They'd say, "No, it's too late. You took what was left of us…you wanted _to die_." Luckily for Jeremy, as everything went dark…cold…dead…he hadn't – not for a moment- changed his mind.

Jeremy Gilbert had thought this through a bit more than that. He was smarter than just to take the rest of Elena's prescribed pills and be done with it all. He wasn't ready to go, just wasn't content with where he was at the moment. Feeling empty and whatnot. But that'd change, once he woke up again. He'd convinced himself of it – before...

Those pills –whatever Elena's left for him to find - were just an ends to a means. Anna's blood was in his body. He'd drank that bitter little vile just before counting out the little life-stoppers and popping each one then washing it down with barely enough tap water to soothe his tensed throat. This wasn't to be a suicide…not technically. As his consciousness waned, he thought he felt something. A breeze? A touch? A breath? …Then nothing.

His body was limp, the color already draining from his features by the time his newly-revealed-to-be- adopted sister padded up the stairs, gruffly dragging her garment-bagged founder's day costume behind her. "…_Jer_?" She called, heading to her room but seeing the dim light seeping out from underneath his closed bedroom door on her way there. She sighed irritatedly, unknowing of what lay in store for her in the next room over. "C'mon Jeremy…I know you're upset…I don't blame you, but…" she bit her lip, hesitating to go on, not wanting to have a conversation of this magnitude on the other side of his bedroom door.

Elena Gilbert thrust the heavy garment onto the edge of her bed, figuring she'd deal with hanging it up or whatever she'd do with it, later. She nervously wrung her hands on her way to Jeremy's door, convincing herself she'd camp out in the hall all night if she had to. "Talk to me Jer…please?"

_Of course he won't answer_, she thought glumly. _He hates me_. She looked down, hopelessly leaning her weight against the doorframe. _But that can't stop me_, she realized. _I can't leave it like this, I can fix this_. She nodded, encouraged by her own upbeat thoughts. She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted, pushing in Jeremy's door. She opened her mouth to try explaining herself again but saw that her brother – even if not by blood – wasn't there.

Hours later, Jeremy started to wake. No longer empty Jeremy Gilbert, who didn't fit in anywhere, now Jeremy Gilbert, who – well, he wasn't sure yet. The overwhelming desire to empty the contents of his stomachs all over the place was severely clouding his ability to think. He felt like his head was spinning. Was he moving? Was he even standing up? His whole body felt achy, his skins tingled unpleasantly, every sound was all too loud.

His gradually fading pulse pounded in his ears, worrying him that his brain would implode. Anna hadn't warned him that his heart would still beat until his transition was completed. Even trying to lift his eye lids or blink – those simple humanly processes- invoked the sensation of tiny needles pricking his eyeballs. There was much that Anna's description had lacked, he begrudgingly realized.

It took him a few minutes to discover he wasn't in his room, in his bed, where he'd died. So he'd disappeared? Stranger things had happened in Mystic Falls…somehow. Elena's diary, if nothing else, was evidence of that. If he could only try to look around or at least sit up, control something – anything about his body at this point he could worry about where he'd gotten to and how, afterward.

Feeling cold, hard ground underneath his hands, Jeremy was able to conclude he was lying down, somewhere. He tried to push himself up but it just resulted in him feeling like his muscles were tearing from his bones. Needless to say, one agonizing series of groans later, he'd resigned himself to remain on the floor a bit longer. Finally able to force his eyes open longer than one second, dread began to sink in. For a moment, he thought something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong. Maybe he has succeeded in killing himself…a little too well. Maybe he'd died and …gone to the _other place_? He thought himself crazy for entertaining the thought of an actual Hell, but reminded himself, _this __**is**__ Mystic Falls…I never thought vampires existed before_…

He couldn't say it, what he was afraid of, he dared not try to talk yet, blinking was torture enough. So he thought what he couldn't ask out loud. _Am I in Hell?_

"No…not quite, though it might _feel _a bit like that."

Now Jeremy knew for sure that he hadn't answered himself. He'd heard a female's voice – a familiar one. Someone was with him, though he couldn't see where; everything was still so dark, so out of focus. Who's voice had he heard? Any how could she have answered him? Had she heard his thoughts?

His dread returned if only for a moment; he had recognized that voice after all. His eyes oriented to the thin brunette approaching him from what he made out to be the bottom row of a set of basement stairs. She was before him in a flash, before he could even blink again. She leaned down by his face, quietly scanning his features, letting her long hair carelessly fall over her shoulders.

"Sit up," she instructed. "We should talk." Jeremy gasped a bit as he felt his body move effortlessly into a sitting position. Well, without _his _effort anyway. His shoulders pushed up, his spine postured properly, his back leaned against a sturdy support beam bolted down to the ground beneath him. Unable to turn his focus on anything but the brunette, he instinctively croaked, "_Elena…_?"

The girl he referred to as Elena tilted her head at him, intrigued, amused. Her thin lips twisted up at the corners as she taunted, teasingly baring her fangs, "_No…not quite_."


	2. Chapter 2

"_No…not quite_."

Jeremy's voice caught in his throat, all his bodily aches momentarily ceased as an intense feeling of child-like wonder overwhelmed him. His brows furrowed together, unable to believe the eerie resemblance of this woman, this centuries-old vampire to his own sister. "K-Katherine?" He stammered, recalling her name scrawled all over the pages of Elena's journal, along with Stefan and Damon's. Katherine simply gave a slight acknowledging nod, then stood up from her crouched position, looming over Jeremy. "_Whoa_," he gasped, gawking at her.

Katherine shrugged, disinterested with his prolonged attention, apathetically fingering the ends of her dark hair as Jeremy frantically tried to recall every last bit of information he'd read about her. She sighed, interrupting his clouded series of thoughts, "I hate my hair in this century...the styles are so boring…especially the way _Elena_ wears it." Jeremy noticed the way she scrunched her nose with disgust as she uttered Elena's name.

He looked at Katherine, perplexed, wondering what she wanted from him and how he'd gotten…wherever he was. He tried not to show it, but he was beginning to worry. Elena's journal never had anything positive to say about Katherine Pierce. The sick feeling in his stomach gradually returned, worsening as Katherine turned to wander the room, seemingly paying him no mind.

"So, you were Annabelle's? …_How cute_." Katherine teased. "It's a pity your little whirlwind romance didn't last longer...what with her being _staked_ and all." She smirked wickedly at Jeremy, noticing him cringe and grit his teeth. He shut his eyes and bowed his head, letting his hair fall in his face, obscuring his saddened features; the pain of losing Anna so suddenly was still very fresh.

"_I'm sorry_…" Katherine mocked, her voice echoing from the opposite side of the room. "_Does that hurt your precious, little feelings?_"

"_What do you want from me?_" Jeremy seethed, scowling in the direction of her voice. He scanned around, surprised not to see her where he thought she'd been. "_Patience_," She seethed back, breathing against his ear, suddenly beside him. Jeremy groaned in pain as Katherine grabbed a thick chunk of his hair and pulled his head back, making him submissive to her. "…And it wouldn't kill you to be a little more respectful of me…I am your elder…and you're not one of us_ yet_…"

"_S-sorry, I'm sorry_," Jeremy gasped, squirming until Katherine let him go. "You're right," Katherine sighed, wiping her hands. "You reek of self-pity. It's sickening." Jeremy leaned over, quietly rubbing the back of his head, trying to suck it up, seeing Katherine really had no sympathy for his suffering.

"Tell me Jeremy, why'd you want _this_ for yourself?" She asked, pursing her lips, folding her arms. Jeremy breathed deeply, trying to relax so his voice wouldn't tremble like he could feel his body doing. _"I wanted…to stop feeling hurt…and alone.._" he murmured. "_I wanted to stop feeling empty._" "You wanted to stop feeling," She concluded for him. Jeremy nodded stiffly, presuming he'd made a mistake since he felt all of those things very strongly right now.

Katherine crouched down in front of him again, gently tilting his chin up. "You can end the pity party, Jeremy," She nodded slowly, encouragingly. "You can make the pain of living go away. I can teach you how…" Jeremy looked into Katherine's eyes and felt a chill run down his spine. Her eyes were so cold, so dead. "Well?" She insisted, withdrawing her hand from his face. "Do you want to learn or not?"

Jeremy swallowed hard, grateful that his nauseous feeling began to subside. Looking into Katherine's eyes had an oddly calming effect; maybe it was distracting or something, Jeremy wasn't sure. He bobbed his head and truthfully replied, "_Yes_…_I want to learn_." Katherine grinned, pleased with his response, already having decided that she would've killed him if he hadn't answered in the affirmative. He would've be useless to her, an inconvenience, if he really didn't want this on some level. "Excellent," She said. She was going to enjoy this.

Katherine stood up and walked to the foot of the basement stairs as Jeremy curiously followed her with his eyes, not daring to question her again. She called up to someone, but he couldn't understand anything. He was starting to feel very tired, his focus was drifting. His stomach churned, but the feeling was different this time. What was it? He shut his eyes for a while, only hearing the sounds of footsteps on the creaky stairs. A man and a girl were coming toward them. A girl his age. How'd he know that? He couldn't even see her.

"She _smells_ good, doesn't she?" Katherine drawled, clarifying things for him. It was her scent that gave it away. His vampiric senses were beginning to set in. He opened his eyes and saw her; a thin girl with light brown hair and light brown eyes, being lead down the stairs and over to him by a male vampire. The girl didn't seem frightened by her circumstances, she was oddly serene, in fact. He felt worried for this girl. He turned to Katherine, hoping she wouldn't confirm his suspicions.

Katherine just smiled at him, unaffected. She took the girl's hand in hers and lead her closer to Jeremy. She guided her to sit down next to him and helped her push the collar of her sweater down, exposing her neck. She smirked at Jeremy, presenting her as a gift.

"___Bon appétit_."


	3. Chapter 3

"_Bon appétit_."

The hairs on Jeremy's arms and neck bristled when he realized what Katherine was insisting he do. "You want me to…_eat _her?" He whimpered, looking paler than usual. Katherine smirked, "_Eat her?_ You make us sound like cannibals…" She wrinkled her nose with disgust over the thought. "_Blegh_."

Jeremy didn't find her teasing the least bit funny. He looked on the girl, patiently waiting to let him feed on her, with pity. "_I don't know if I can_…" he sighed, gathering enough strength to pick himself up from the floor, putting some distance between himself and the girl.

"It's just a little blood," Katherine rolled her eyes, removing her hands from the girl, standing up to meet him. "Or did you not know that drinking blood was a prerequisite for the lifestyle you were so eager for?" She taunted.

Jeremy frowned, looking away. Of course he knew that he'd have to drink blood to survive; the fact that it had to be human blood right now, was the part that he had a hard time reconciling. Katherine sighed softly, a bit annoyed that he was being such a coward. She turned to the girl and gestured for her to get up and stand with them. She looked into the girl's eyes and whispered, "_Tell Jeremy it's okay to bite you. You're not afraid_."

The girl nodded obediently, deeply under Katherine's compulsion. She moved over to Jeremy and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Jeremy?" She smiled, when he looked up to meet her eyes. "It's okay…" she parroted. "You can bite me. I'm not afraid. I might even like it. I mean, I like vampire stuff…and you're pretty cute. So I don't mind."

She seemed rather convincing. If Jeremy didn't know for sure that Katherine was compelling her to say these things he probably would've believed her. She smiled sweetly and lowered her shirt collar a little, urging him on. "_I want you to_…"

She moved closer to him. Her sugary scent invaded his nostrils. He couldn't believe how she smelt better than anything he'd ever smelled before. He shut his eyes for a moment, telling himself he couldn't think that way about a person, a living, breathing, human being. She wasn't food. But…if he really had to make the comparison, she kind of smelled like a cupcake.

He opened his eyes and looked at the girl, letting his eyes drift down to her neck. He could faintly hear her blood pulsing through her veins. He could feel her pulse just by being close to her. His palms were sweating. His mouth was watering.

"_Oh for God sakes…_" Katherine groaned, stepping between them. "_We_ _don't have all day._" She shook her head over Jeremy's hesitation and sunk her teeth into the girl's neck, drawing blood for him.

Jeremy cringed when the girl's hand clutched at his shoulder and her nails dug into his flesh as Katherine bite into hers. She whimpered a little, but kept a smile on her face. A part of him was horrified to be watching this. But that part was fading faster than he thought it would.

He was hungry. Really hungry. He couldn't continue denying it. He wouldn't kill the girl, he told himself. He just needed to drink a little bit of her blood. Then it'd all be over and he'd never have to drink human blood again…

He gravitated toward the girl's throat when Katherine stepped aside, licking her lips clean. Just a little drink, he reminded himself. Then it'd all be over and…

Jeremy's lips brushed against her skin. He passed his tongue along the lesions Katherine'd made, tasting the girl's blood for himself.

It'd all be over and…

He sucked on her skin, squeezing more blood out, a little frustrated since Katherine hadn't bitten all that deeply. He slipped his arm around the girl, holding her close to him; possessive of her.

Her blood coated the inside of his mouth and pooled on his tongue. Katherine was grinning at him, but he didn't notice.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Elena_," Stefan sighed, resting his hands on Elena Gilbert's tense shoulders. "I'm sure wherever Jeremy is, he's fine." She looked up at him with worry in her eyes, unconvinced. "Stefan, he's still really upset with everything that's happened. He's not answering his phone…" She sighed, shaking her head and looking down toward the floor. "What if he ran away or something? What if he's in trouble? I'll never forgive myself if—"

"—_Elena_." Stefan softly interrupted, giving her shoulders a light, reassuring squeeze. "Don't think of the worst. Jeremy's a smart kid. I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about. Maybe he just wanted to get out of here, blow off of steam. A lot's happened…I'm sure he just needs to sort it all out." Elena met his gaze, hoping that Stefan could be right; he seemed certain.

Elena couldn't deny that Stefan was good at comforting her; he really was a wonderful boyfriend, vampire or not. "It could be good for him…and for you," he continued. "Maybe he'll come home with a better attitude and he'll be more willing to talk then." She swallowed hard, trying to have faith like Stefan. She nodded weakly. "Yeah, maybe…"

Stefan gave her a tiny smile and lifted his hand to lightly caress her cheek. "If it'll ease your mind though…" he sighed, prepared to offer any help he could. "Damon and I will look for Jeremy…make sure he's keeping out of trouble." Elena nodded eagerly, "Please Stefan, that'd help a lot. I just wanna know that he's okay." "Of course," He nodded, agreeing to grant her request. Leaning close to her, he softly pressed his lips to the top of her head, making Elena smile just a little. "I'll call you as soon as one of us finds him."

"Thank you." She leaned up and pecked his lips, then pulled away. As much as she wanted Stefan to stay and continue comforting her, she knew she wouldn't feel any actual relief until Jeremy's whereabouts were known. Elena headed toward the bathroom to splash some water on her face once Stefan had left. She let the water run for a bit, sighing at her reflection in the mirror. _Wherever he is, he's fine_, she assured herself._ He's fine_.

Keeping her eyes closed, enjoying the coolness of the water on her skin, Elena reached toward the wall for a towel. She grasped at it, but her grip wasn't firm enough. The towel slipped off the rack and right through her fingers, landing beside the trash bin. She groaned, opening her eyes and stooping down to pick it up.

Dusting the towel off, she glanced into the bin and saw something inside it. She knitted her brows as she reached in and pulled out an empty pill bottle; the label clearly read "prescribed to Elena Gilbert". She bit her lip, tossing the bottle back into the trash bin, more worried than before. She slumped down against the wall, praying that Jeremy was safe and alive, wherever he was.

...

"_Is she dead?_"

Jeremy stared down at the limp body of the girl he'd drank from to complete his transformation, his tongue catching the last drop of blood on the corner of his mouth. Katherine glanced down at her too, then turned her focus back on Jeremy who she'd been pressing back into the wall, several feet away from the girl. "No," She sighed. "I'd never hear the end of your whining if I'd let you drain her completely. She's still alive…just passed out, weak from the blood loss."

He looked at Katherine, puzzled. "You stopped me?" She didn't respond, keeping her hand firmly against his chest, using a minimal amount of energy to keep him pinned. Jeremy sighed, thinking about what had just happened, his thoughts starting to become less murky now that his hunger had been satisfied. "You had to," he reasoned. "I couldn't. I would've kept drinking if you hadn't—" "—well, I did. _Clearly_." Katherine retorted, indicating to their current position.

"Why?" Jeremy inquired, relieved, yet highly curious at the same time. "I already told you…" Katherine rolled her eyes, pulling back from Jeremy, gesturing for her servant to take the girl out of their sight for the time being. "I didn't feel like listening to you go on about about the _horrible thing you've done_. Besides," She shrugged casually. "You're not strong enough to kill anyone yet."

"—But."

"You're _capable_, of course," She explained. "Just not properly equipped to handle the consequences."

Jeremy nodded lightly, easing off from the wall, vaguely understanding what she meant. "Because my emotions are still there…"

"Yes, your emotions get in the way," Katherine nodded, turning to face him again. She approached him slowly, with a slick grin forming on her lips. She stopped in front of him, lightly tapping his nose. "But we'll fix that..."


	5. Chapter 5

"Any luck?" Stefan asked, heading toward Mystic Grille's bar. Damon looked up as his younger brother took the unoccupied barstool beside him. He shook his head as Stefan leaned his elbows on the countertop and looked at him, still hopeful. "Nope, couldn't find the _lost boy_…" Damon replied, grasping his drink glass and swirling the ice cubes around in it. "Sorry."

Stefan sighed, judging Damon's tone to be severely lacking in sympathy. "Did you even _bother _to look for Jeremy?" He accused. Damon stared at him, defiantly furrowing his brows. "Of course I did…and I _said _I couldn't find him…" He shook his head and lifted his drink to his lips, disappointed that Stefan was still so cynical of him.

"Okay," Stefan nodded, reluctantly choosing to believe Damon. "I just wish we had something useful to tell Elena. She's going to worry even more now." Damon sighed and shrugged, "Maybe she _should _be worried. Her brother, biological or not, just vanished." "Not helping," Stefan grunted.

Damon shrugged, finishing off his drink. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thin bracelet, dangling it in front of his brother's eyes. "I did manage to find this, however…vervain's in the pendant." Stefan gently took the bracelet from him, inspecting it closely. "You think this is Jeremy's?" Damon nodded lightly, pushing his empty glass away. "It smells like him…eau de angsty teen…" he quipped, catching another glare from Stefan. He smirked a little, "It's more than you found. How's that for helping?"

The brothers exchanged knowing glances. Stefan uttered what the both of them were thinking, "_Something's wrong_."

**...**

Jeremy sat in the basement alone with his back against the wall, waiting for Katherine to return from whatever errand she'd said wasn't his concern. He would've asked to go with her but he had no idea what time of day it was and he was pretty sure she didn't have any extra enchanted rings lying around for him in case it was light out. She assured him that it was safer to stay where he was anyway, until she said otherwise. He figured she was worth listening to; at the very least, she was more powerful than him and he didn't think it was wise to test her patience.

He shut his eyes, hoping to pass the time with a brief nap. With his eyes closed, he could hear faint, feminine footsteps in the room above. He focused. The brunette he'd fed from was up there. She was heading toward the basement. He silently willed her to stay away, worried about what she might remember and worried what he might do to her, but she advanced nonetheless. He looked up as she opened the basement door and started descending the stairs. He watched her with curious eyes as she approached him with a soft smile on her lips. She had a thin scarf loosely draped around her neck, concealing the marks his and Katherine's fangs had left the day before.

She walked right over to him and kneeled down at his side. She smiled wider and tilted her head a little. "How're you feeling?" She asked. Jeremy looked at her confusedly. He felt that maybe he should be the one asking her such a question. He shifted a bit uneasily and replied, "Um…better, I guess." She nodded and reached up to gently caress his cheek. "Are you hungry?" He shook his head adamantly. "No." He wasn't ready to feed again, especially if his host wasn't compelled; Katherine hadn't taught him how to compel someone yet.

The girl nodded softly and folded her hands in her lap. "Okay, well if you get hungry it's alright. I feel much better now." Jeremy looked at her, wondering if she knew what she was saying. "You _want _me to bite you?" He queried. She grinned wide and her eyes sparkled. "Oh yes," she nodded, inching closer to him. "I'm ready." He bristled a bit. "What d'you mean, _you're ready?_" She giggled softly, playfully nudging Jeremy's arm. "I'm ready for you to turn me, silly."


	6. Chapter 6

"_You want me to turn you?_" Jeremy's eyes widened. The brunette nodded and smiled, her cheeks dimpling faintly. "Yes…can you do it now? Please?" Jeremy furrowed his brows and shook his head, pulling back from her. "No…" he protested, sighing heavily. "I…I don't even know you…" "I'm Nikki," she promptly replied, as if that would end Jeremy's resistance. "Well Nikki, you don't know what you're asking for," he insisted.

Nikki shook her head and protested right back. "I _do _know. I know exactly _what_ you are now…and I want to be like you. I want to be with you forever, Jeremy." Jeremy wrinkled his nose, disbelieving. "How can you say something like that?" Nikki shrugged a little, not understanding what the big deal was. "No one would miss me, I wouldn't miss anyone. Don't you _want_ someone to be with?"

Jeremy looked away, feeling a twinge of despair as he thought of Anna, regretting that things didn't work out how they were planning. "I can't be with you though, Nikki." He sighed heavily, "Even if we did get to know each other better…I couldn't ask you to do something like that."

Nikki nodded softly and smiled, moving close to Jeremy, reaching down for his hands. "I know you couldn't…you're too sweet to." Jeremy met her gaze as she laced their fingers together. "How do you know-?" "-So you don't have to ask," Nikki interjected, dismissing Jeremy's question. "That's why _I'm_ offering. _I'm_ asking."

"All you have to do is give me some of your blood…" Nikki continued, tilting her head to the side a little. "…then kill me." Jeremy looked into Nikki's eyes, looking for any signs that she wasn't being serious. She looked back at him, unflinching. "Or I can do it the way you did it, if you're worried about hurting me. Whatever makes it easier."

"How do you know how I did it?" He asked, feeling very suspicious. Nikki simply grinned and shrugged. "I know a lot about you Jeremy. I think we'll grow very close." She sighed softly, seeing that he wasn't granting her request. "Okay, we can do this another way then."

Jeremy looked at her curiously as she let go of his hands and reached into her jeans pocket. He watched her pull out a safety pin. He shook his head instinctively. "Nikki, don't." She laughed softly. "Don't worry. I'm just gonna make it less difficult for you." She opened the pin and placed the point against her skin. "Maybe a little taste will take your nerves away."

Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut on the first glimpse of red and stepped back as far as he could. "_Nooo…you should leave_," he groaned, already smelling the freshness of her blood, desiring to taste it again. "_Jerrrr_," Nikki whined, advancing toward him, offering him her wrist. "_It's okay, I promise._" "No!" He snarled in frustration, roughly pushing Nikki away from him and into the wall.

Nikki gasped when her back hit the cement of the wall then she stumbled forward a bit, rebounding from the impact. "Geez, that hurt y'know…" She complained, rubbing the back of her neck. Jeremy turned away, trying to ignore his intense hunger pangs. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "_I just…you need to go…now_."

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Nikki sighed, approaching Jeremy again once she got her bearings. "I'm just trying to be a good future girlfriend for you. It's obvious you don't know how to pick the right ones for yourself." Jeremy frowned deeply, turning to face her. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nikki shrugged, remaining close to him. "….Vicki and Anna?" She scrunched her nose in disgust. "Apparently, neither of them was good for you. They were _both _stupid enough to get themselves staked."

Jeremy's jaw clenched and he snarled at her again, filling with hatred for this girl. "_Don't you talk about them!_" Nikki stood her ground, bracing herself, knowing Jeremy was close to giving in. All she had to do was push him just a little further, like Katherine said to. She smirked to herself, choosing just the right words. "_They didn't love you, Jeremy. But I will. I won't betray you like your so-called sister. I won't leave you. Like Vicki…and Anna…and your parents_…"

"_Shut up_!" Jeremy growled, wrapping his fingers around Nikki's throat, pushing her back to the wall, moving in front of her to keep her there this time. He squeezed her windpipe tightly, leaving her unable to make any more noise aside from wheezing. "_You want this so bad?_" He seethed. Nikki squirmed, trying to breathe. She couldn't nod, so she just lifted her arm, offering her wrist to him again.

Jeremy furiously knocked her hand away. "_Fine_." Keeping her pinned against the wall, he eyed her neck instead. Nikki looked at him confused, starting to feel light-headed from the pressure of his fingers on her neck. She watched his fangs protrude as he parted his lips and leaned toward her throat, biting down where her pulse was strongest. She winced, shutting her eyes, wondering how long he'd feed from her before letting up. Jeremy bit down deeper, sucking harder, feeling her blood quicken into his mouth the more she squirmed.

There was no voice in Jeremy's head telling him he should stop before it was too late this time. He was surrendering to his blood lust and he couldn't bring himself to care what happened to Nikki at all. He only drank more deeply when she clutched at his shirt, trying to pry him off with the last bits of her strength. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Nikki, holding her close to him as her pulse weakened.

Slumping down to the ground after a few moments, Nikki exhaled her final breath. Jeremy knelt down, cradling her in his arms, making sure not to waste even one precious drop of her blood. He licked his lips, cleaning them off, looking down at Nikki's lifeless body when there was nothing left. He felt odd, looking down at Nikki now, knowing that _he'd_ made her a corpse.

"_Jeremy Gilbert," _a voice called to him from the stairs, _"What have you done?"_


	7. Chapter 7

"_Jeremy Gilbert," _a voice called to him from the stairs, _"What have you done?"_

Jeremy stumbled back in surprise. "Uh…I…" He stammered as Katherine descended the steps and set her eyes on Nikki's crumpled form. Katherine folded her arms and pouted her lips. "I was saving her for later," she sighed. She glanced at him with a wicked smirk on her lips. "_Greedy."_

Jeremy furrowed his brows, not understanding her reaction. "So…you're not mad?" Katherine smirked more noticeably. "Mad? Why would I be mad?" She shrugged, tilting her head. "Sure, I'll have to find a new toy, but I'm sure I won't have much trouble." She sighed, looking away from Nikki, mockingly tsk-ing at her corpse. She turned to Jeremy, gently wiping a smear of blood from his cheek, licking it off her fingertip. "At least there's not much to clean up. Nice job."

Jeremy frowned. "Nice job? Katherine…" he hesitated, uncomfortable with admitting his crime. "You killed someone," She offered, knowing what he was going to say. "I know…and you feel…guilty." She scrunched her nose at the sentiment. "It's natural to feel that way…blah, blah…she's in a better place now…blah, blah. At least she made herself useful, right?" She smiled teasingly. "Feel better?"

"No…" He murmured glumly. Katherine rolled her eyes, watching Jeremy stare at Nikki, his expression softening with sympathy for her. "Look Jeremy," she sighed, standing in front of him, blocking his view of his victim. "What are you worried about? You're not going to get caught." "How do you know?" He sighed, anxious about the repercussions of his act now that Katherine brought that up. Katherine shrugged, "It'll be taken care of. The girl said herself that she didn't have anyone and no one would miss her…"

Jeremy narrowed his eyes at her, certain Nikki had told him that in confidence. "How did you know that?" Katherine shook her head at him, still amused by his naiveté. "Vampire hearing, sweetie." Jeremy nodded softly. "Oh…right. Well, I still feel bad."

"You shouldn't." Katherine said, placing her hands on her hips. "She deserved it." Jeremy sighed, feeling like he should disagree, though he didn't. Katherine smiled softly, seeing her opportunity to sever his emotional attachment to this girl even further. "I heard what she said to you…she was badmouthing people you _love…_" she coaxed, faking a bit of concern.

"She was trying to rile you up. She was hurting you. You stood up for yourself." She shrugged lightly. "Frankly, I'd call that self-defense."

Jeremy looked down at his feet, nodding softly. Nikki had said some horrible things, things that really bothered him, things she had no right to say. His chest tightened a little as he murmured. "_Well,_ _she can't hurt me anymore_." Katherine grinned and nodded. "That's right." She leaned close to him, lightly touching his cheek, setting her eyes on his. "No one can. Isn't that a freeing feeling? Knowing that nothing and no one can hurt you anymore."

Jeremy met her gaze, letting what she said sink in. The tiny voice in his head saying it was wrong to think this way was growing fainter, dissipating altogether. Katherine pressed on, gently fingering the baby hairs on his nape, speaking to him in a soothing tone. "Everything that's ever been painful in your life…it'll all fade away. Your parents dying…Elena _betraying _you…Vicki…Ana…" She gave him a soft smile, judging by his intent stare that he was fully attuned to what she was saying. He nodded along lightly, confirming her assumption.

"All your pain is over. _You're_ in control now," she concluded. "…and if anyone tries to hurt you again or gets in your way…" she tilted her head, looking to him to supply the end of her statement, already knowing he was thinking it from the distant look in his eyes.

"…_I'll kill them_."

Katherine shuddered a little, satisfied with Jeremy's detached utterance. She smiled to herself. There was truly nothing like the thrill of corrupting an innocent.


	8. Chapter 8

Elena wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling her legs in tight to her body as she sat in bed. She exhaled heavily, refusing to do anything productive until she heard back from Stefan about Jeremy. She wanted so much just to go out and look for Jeremy herself, but she knew it was smarter to trust Stefan and let him determine how much she really needed to worry about this. She had to admit to herself that she had a tendency to rush into situations that got her in trouble. As well-intentioned as she always was, she didn't want Stefan, or even Damon for that matter, to put themselves in danger just to bail her out yet again. She just had to sit and wait…

A few moments later, Elena heard a creaking sound just outside her door. She held her breath for a moment, hoping if it was Jenna that she'd just keep walking, since she really didn't know what to say if she was asked where Jeremy was. She turned to the door, for a moment thinking it could be Jeremy; he could be home. Suddenly very hopeful, Elena sprang up from bed and rushed to her door, opening it to peek into the hall. She smiled just slightly, realizing she'd been wrong, but still happy at least to see Stefan at her door.

"Hey," he sighed, giving her a tiny smile back. "Stefan, you've been gone for hours…" Elena chided, her smile fading. "Please tell me you have good news." Stefan's smile faded too. "Damon and I both looked all around town. We can't detect him anywhere." He sighed, seeing Elena frown and turn away to head back inside her bedroom. He followed her lead, shutting the door closed behind them. "We'll keep looking though."

"I don't understand. How can there be no trail whatsoever?" Elena complained, curling up on her bed again, taking refuge in her pillows. Stefan shook his head, following her over to her bed, sitting on the edge of it beside her. "I'm not sure. There should be something…but there isn't. It's really weird."

"—Y'know what's really weird? No one ever locks the door around here. I mean, just about anyone can just waltz in."

Elena rolled her eyes, not having to look toward the door to realize Damon had invited himself in. He walked over to the bed, folding his arms, looking between Elena and his brother. "I'm guessing you told her we didn't find the lost boy?" He teased, ignoring Stefan's look of disapproval. Stefan sighed, sliding his arm around Elena's shoulder, trying to be supportive. Damon smirked, "Oh, I'll take that as a major yes."

"Damon, what do you want?" Elena whined, feeling worse the longer they all sat there, doing nothing. Damon shrugged. "I just wanted to be included in the briefing. I just wanna be part of the team. You know what a people-person I am." Elena raised her eyebrow at him, knowing he had something to say that he wasn't saying. "Well...?"

"Just thought I should contribute some information," Damon replied, unfolding his arms and digging into his pocket to retrieve Jeremy's wrist cuff. "You did get to mention I found this, didn't you?" He asked Stefan, tossing the accessory to him. Stefan scowled, catching it with his free hand. "_No, I hadn't gotten there yet."_ Damon smirked softly, "…_My bad_."

Elena gasped a little, recognizing the wrist cuff immediately. "That's Jeremy's…" she wrapped her fingers closed around it when Stefan handed it to her. "Where'd you find this?" She asked, looking up at Damon, starting to panic a bit. Damon looked back at her and shrugged casually. "Outside. Caught on the windowpane. Stefan must've missed it." He teasingly nudged Stefan's arm. "I guess that makes _me,_ Sherlock Holmes...and _you_, Watson?"

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Could you be serious for one second?" Damon eyed his brother for a moment, and then nodded, retreating a bit. "…Sure." Elena just stared quietly at Jeremy's wrist cuff, turning it over in her hands. She knew Jeremy wasn't safe now, especially not from vampires who could compel him. "_Elena_…" Stefan gently stroked her hair, trying to soothe her fears. "_We'll find him_." Damon averted his eyes from them, envious that Stefan was in the position to be of comfort to Elena and he wasn't.

"_Or not_."

He regretted uttering those words as soon as he spoke them, feeling Elena's glare on his back. "How can you say that, Damon?" He hated to hear the hurt in her voice, directed at him. He sighed, softening a bit. "I only meant that it's going to be difficult without anything really to go on. At this point, we don't have any leads. And…"

Elena tilted her head, gently pulling away from Stefan. "And…?" She got up from her bed and walked over to Damon, standing in front of him, demanding him to continue. He glanced at Stefan who simply shrugged, leaving him on his own to correct whatever stupid thing he was about to say next. "_Damon_," Elena urged, calling his attention back. "And…I've got two theories at the moment. But neither is that great." He continued.

Stefan furrowed his brow, curious to hear these theories, since Damon hadn't said anything to him before. "Well, what are they?" Elena asked, desperate for anything that could help.

Damon exhaled, "Well…either A. Jeremy disappeared off the face of the earth…" Stefan and Elena collectively rolled their eyes. "Damon, this isn't the time to joke," Stefan warned. Damon scoffed, "Uh...I said they weren't great theories, but they're more than you've come up with…do you want to hear the other one or not?"

Elena sighed, going back to her bed, sitting down by Stefan. She shrugged, "What's the other theory, _Sherlock_?" Damon nodded lightly, acknowledging that jab, folding his arms again. "Either A. or…B. Jeremy was taken."


	9. Chapter 9

"_Taken?_" Elena cocked her head to the side, eyeing Damon incredulously. "Who would take my brother? For what?" Damon shrugged lightly, "…I didn't say I had that figured out. It's a theory, remember?" Elena shook her head, immediately dismissing that thought. "No way. Not possible. That makes no sense." She pouted a little, leaning against Stefan more, feeling slightly better when he squeezed her side.

Damon hesitated a moment, seeing Elena wasn't being rational. He sighed, wishing it could be more rewarding to be the reasonable one in this conversation. "Actually, it's the only thing that makes some sense, right now," he argued. Elena frowned, turning to Stefan for reassurance. "Tell Damon how ridiculous that is, please…" She waited for Stefan to comply, but he didn't.

The I-don't-want-to-agree-with-Damon-but-I-do expression on his face gave him away before he even spoke. "It's not so unreasonable, Elena…if Jeremy had run away, we probably would've picked up a scent on him by now." Stefan looked into Elena's eyes, remorseful, wishing he could offer her something more concrete than that. Elena looked away, hating to see that look in Stefan's eyes; that look always made her stomach turn.

"I mean, what reason would anyone have to take Jeremy? He's innocent in all this…" Elena argued, looking up to see Damon approaching, going straight for the head of her bed. "Hey…what're you doing?" She asked, surprised to see he knew she was hiding something there. "Well, actually…" Damon ignored her question, continuing on. "That's debatable," he sighed, reaching behind the board above her bed, removing her journal from its hiding place.

He turned toward Stefan and Elena, flipping through the pages for emphasis, ignoring the surprised look on Elena's face. "Aside from this…Gilbert Jr. might just be the best source of information on all of us right now."

o o o o

Katherine tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Jeremy to follow her out of the car. "Come on Gilbert. We have somewhere to be." Jeremy carefully felt his way toward the open door, unable to see where he was going. "Sorry…" He sighed, sarcastically remarking, "Maybe if you didn't have me blind-folded I could move a bit faster…"

"I had to blind-fold you." Katherine remarked, linking her arm with Jeremy's once he was out of the car, leading him in the direction she wanted to go. "I don't trust you." Jeremy smirked, scoffing at her, "You don't trust me? Katherine, I woke up in a basement, after you kidnapped me from my bedroom…and _you_ don't trust _me_?"

Katherine smiled just slightly, admitting that Jeremy had a point, not that she would let him know it. She shook her head, suppressing her smile almost immediately, nodding that their driver could leave them alone until she needed him again. "That's beside the point." "I don't see how…" Jeremy complained, blindly following her lead. "It just is," Katherine sighed, reaching up with her free hand to pull Jeremy's blindfold off, once they were far away enough from the car. "Will you stop whining now?"

Jeremy exhaled with relief, blinking, adjusting to the bright glow of the moon above them. "For now…I guess," he shrugged, glad at least to be able to look around, not that he had any clue where he was. He scanned the area quietly, wondering if there was a way he could ditch Katherine. "...see?" Katherine broke into his thoughts, roughly nudging his side. "Plotting your escape already? This is why I don't trust you."

"Ow." Jeremy flinched a little. "I wasn't plotting anything. Trust me, the last place I wanna go is home." Katherine softly smirked. "Ooh really? Problems there?" Jeremy sighed and shook his head. "Nothing I'm going to talk about with you." Katherine shook her head, finding Jeremy's attitude amusing for the moment. "We'll see about that…" She murmured, unlinking her arm from his, knowing that even if he did try to run he wouldn't get too far.

Jeremy shrugged, following along for a bit, growing curious. "Where are we?" "That's not important," Katherine replied, gesturing toward the door of a nondescript brick building. "We're going in there. Just don't bring attention to yourself and you'll be fine. Otherwise, it's back to the dark, lonely basement for you. Understand?"

Jeremy nodded slowly, too intimidated by Katherine to defy her. "Wait…" He reached out and grasped her arm at the elbow, earning a look of displeasure from her, but succeeding in stopping her in her tracks for a second. He looked her in the eyes, hoping to appeal to any sort of humanity that existed within her. "What do you want from me?" He asked. She shrugged, answering abruptly. "I don't want anything from you."

Jeremy nodded, supposing she'd say that. Of course, he didn't buy it. "Okay. Then you must _need _me for something." "_Need _you?" Katherine scoffed, folding her arms. "Don't flatter yourself." Jeremy persisted, mimicking Katherine's stance. "If you didn't need me…I'd be dead right now."

Katherine nodded lightly, tilting her head. She pursed her lips and teased, "technically you _are_ dead, so…" Jeremy sighed, seeing she was messing with him. "So…you're not telling me anything?" He surmised. Katherine just smiled a little, gesturing to the door again. "Do you want to see what's behind that door or not?"


	10. Chapter 10

"_Do you want to see what's behind that door or not?"_

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded, releasing Katherine's arm and walking by her side, toward the door.

"I mean, I'm guessing in the grand scheme of things…I don't really have a choice, do I?" Katherine scrunched her nose at him, concealing a playful grin, "Oh, you have a choice. You _always_ have a choice, Jeremy."

Jeremy looked at her, puzzled, waiting for the condition. She grinned, pulling him the rest of the way to the door. "But I wouldn't be too pleased with you, if you made the wrong choice. Keep that in mind." Jeremy nodded quietly and sighed, following her in through the door, into a dimly-lit bar. He smiled a little, unable to keep his immediate thought to himself. "…_Cliché much?_"

Katherine murmured to him, plastering a smile on her lips as she scanned the room. "_Care to be dead much?_" Jeremy smirked, glancing around too, feeling safe for the moment since there were witnesses around. "_Thought I was_ _technically, dead already_…" "_Let's not forget your true death, Jer. I can make that hell for you_. _Now, just be quiet and follow my lead._"

Jeremy glanced down between them as Katherine slipped her hand into his. Her skin didn't feel nearly as cold as it did before. Maybe the coldness of his skin cancelled that out some, he wasn't sure. He also wasn't sure why Katherine was holding his hand now. "Come," she instructed, barely moving her lips. She guided him to the bar, moving down to the end of it. "_Watch this_," she whispered, leaning against him a little once they were at the counter, subtly making eye contact with the bar tender. "_What're we doing here?_" He sighed, hating feeling left out of whatever Katherine's plans were.

"_Having a drink_," she casually replied, smiling as the bar tender started heading over to them. "_Uh…I don't have ID or anything…I can't_," Jeremy protested. "_Quiet. Watch._" Katherine squeezed his hand hard. He groaned under his breath, shutting up as she intended. The bar tender nodded to Katherine, stopping in front of them, looking them both over. "What can I get you?" He asked, turning his attention to Katherine once she spoke up. "We're thirsty. We'll take two beers." He grinned softly, nodding. "Right. Sure." He leaned forward on the bar counter, appreciating Katherine's flirtatious glances. "I'll need ID though."

"We don't have ID," Katherine replied in a syrupy sweet tone, leaning toward the bar tender a little. "But…" she locked her eyes on his, letting go of Jeremy's hand. Jeremy glanced between the two of them, wondering what she was doing. She focused, continuing once he seemed open to her. "You'll get us two beers anyway and you won't charge us. Will you? "

"I'll get you two beers and I won't charge you," the bar tender droned, his eyes not blinking as he echoed Katherine. Jeremy nodded slightly, catching on. Katherine was compelling the bar tender. He smiled a little. _Cool_, he thought, watching Katherine release the bar tender so he could go and fill her request. Katherine turned to him afterward, shrugging. "I hope you were paying attention." Jeremy nodded. "…kinda, yeah." Katherine rolled her eyes, turning back to the counter to grab their beers. "_Kinda, yeah_ wasn't the exact reply I was hoping for…but I guess we'll go with that." She offered Jeremy one and kept one for herself.

Jeremy tried not to smile too much, amused by being able to have a beer out in the open, thanks to a little vampire compulsion. His amusement was short-lived. "Don't drink it." "Huh?" "Don't drink it. We're not here to drink beer." Jeremy sighed, "But you said, we were having a drink…" Katherine nodded, leading Jeremy away from the bar and to a table in the corner. "I know. I didn't mean beer. We're going to have a _real _drink… That's where you come in."

"You want me to compel someone?" Katherine nodded, taking the seat across the table from Jeremy. "Mmhm." She nodded, setting her beer down, gesturing for him to sit too. "Okaaay," Jeremy nodded and sat down, looking forward to learning the tricks of the vampire trade. "…well, how do I do it?" Katherine frowned. "I thought you were paying attention…"

"_Sorry_…" Jeremy groaned, feeling very much like he was with Elena, with her constantly berating and correcting him. "Is it that hard?"

Katherine smiled and shrugged, sinking back into her chair. "Actually, it's not. You'd be surprised by how weak the human mind is…" She smirked at him. "Well, _you'd_ probably know from experience." Jeremy rolled his eyes, wanting to get on with it already. "Yeaaah, so compelling…how do I do it? And who do I do it to?"

"…be calm about it…speak slowly and clearly, make sure you have the person's complete attention…and I know it's a stretch for you, but being charming doesn't hurt," Katherine pursed her lips, tapping the side of her beer bottle as she looked around. She smiled softly, setting her sights on someone close by.

"Him."

Jeremy wrinkled his nose a little, surprised she was asking him to compel a guy that he'd have to drink from. "_Really?_" Katherine nodded, keeping her eyes on the man she'd chosen. "Really. Him."

Jeremy was curious to see his target. He turned around in his seat, following Katherine's gaze to the man. He frowned, realizing it was someone he recognized.


	11. Chapter 11

"_Katherine_," Jeremy looked down, regretting coming into that bar. "_I can't._"

She tilted her head, taking a sip from her beer, just for appearance sake. "Mmm…sounds more like '_I won't'_…and that doesn't work." Jeremy shook his head, defiant. He leaned close to her, lowering his voice. "_Uncle John? Are you crazy? What makes you think I'd do that to him?_" She glanced in John's direction, feeling a deep distain for him.

He was slouched down at a table in the back of the bar, downing his third beverage, in no condition to drive home, trying to forget his involvement in Katherine's whole scheme. _Drinking away his cowardice,_ Katherine thought. "The same thing that made me think to bring you here…" She arched her brow, turning her attention back to Jeremy, mimicking his hushed tone. "_Revenge_."

"Revenge? You want me to get revenge on him for you?" Jeremy asked, not understanding. Katherine smiled slightly, getting a kick out of turning Jeremy's world upside down as she was about to in a moment. "Not for me…I easily could've killed him if I wanted." "You said revenge—" "Yes," Katherine nodded, cutting Jeremy off. "For _you_. Your uncle John has done something very bad, _Jer_."

Jeremy sighed, taking a sip of his beer too, ignoring the chiding look on Katherine's face. "Yeah, he's a jerk for abandoning Elena…but I'm not gonna kill him over it." Katherine sighed too, shaking her head, "I wasn't referring to Elena." "Well…then what're you talking about?"

"Anna."

Katherine let her name linger in the air, letting Jeremy's brain do some work. She'd certainly gotten his attention.

"Anna? What does Anna have to do with us being here?" "Oh Jeremy, are you telling me that you don't know?" _"Don't know what? Katherine, would you stop being so cryptic?"_ Jeremy exclaimed exasperatedly. She quickly grasped his arm under the table, squeezing it hard, warning him. "_Shhh!_" She glanced around, relieved that no one had bothered to look at them. He groaned, taking her hint, "_Please…just tell me what you mean."_

Katherine sighed, releasing Jeremy's arm. She did her best to appear sorry to tell him the news, though she couldn't be further from it. "I don't know any nice way to put it, so I'll just say it." She subtly nodded to John, who was busy contemplating a fourth drink, too oblivious to notice the danger he was in. "He's the reason that your girlfriend's dead. He personally saw to the job."

Jeremy's jaw dropped. His eyes widened a little. He didn't want to believe it. "I don't understand." Katherine insisted on forcing the truth, "John rammed a stake through Anna's heart, Jeremy. What more is there that needs clarification?"

Jeremy scowled. Katherine was a bit blunt for his taste. She was also a bit too sadistic and secretive, but despite that he could tell she wasn't lying about this. He set his beer down, completely uninterested in it. His fists automatically clenched. His gaze shifted across the room to John. "_He took Anna away from me_..."

Katherine nodded slowly, watching her protégé closely. "_Mmhm…now what are you going to do about it?_" Her gaze drifted down to Jeremy's clenched fist. She bit her lip in anticipation of something vindictive as she observed a droplet of blood seeping from his palm. He'd been curling his fingers so tightly into it that the nail of his index finger had pierced the skin. Staring down his target, surging with a dark purpose, he didn't even notice. Rising from the table, he replied, "_I'm going to get us a drink.._."

ooo

Elena curled up on the stoop outside of her house, hoping that Jeremy would just turn up. At this point, she wouldn't care what his reason for disappearing was, as long as he came back, unharmed. She glanced down at her cell phone, hoping Stefan would call with some good news, but he and Damon had been gone for over an hour and she'd heard nothing. She sighed, thinking back to what Damon said. She refused to believe that Jeremy would turn against them. Against her. They were still family, even if to a lesser degree.

"I didn't think it needed to be said that 'you're not safe out here, in the middle of the night'. Yet…Elena, you're not safe out here—"

"—Damon, I'm fine." Elena rolled her eyes, getting up from the stoop, tucking her cell phone into her jeans pocket. Damon folded his leather-clad arms, watched her freely, relishing Stefan's absence. "I was about to go back inside anyway," Elena explained, taking a step up. "And just in case you've got any more bright ideas, I've heard enough of your theories for one day." "Hey, hey…" Damon scoffed, sporting a pout. "I come in peace…"

Elena tilted her head to the side, skeptical. He smiled a little. "Well...sort of." She folded her arms now, waiting for him to say what he was hedging around. "There's something we need to discuss."

"Can't whatever it is wait?"

"I think it's waited long enough."

Elena furrowed her brows, "Then what is it, Damon? What is it that can't possibly wait any longer?" Damon glanced down, grinding a bit of dirt underneath his boot. "Um…" He exhaled, trying his best not to show how anxious he was to bring this up. There was never going to be a better time though and he knew it. "It's about…a certain kiss."

"A kiss?"

He nodded, meeting her gaze again. "More specifically…_our_ kiss."


	12. Chapter 12

"Uncle John?"

John Gilbert looked up from his table, beyond surprised to hear Jeremy's voice. "Jer? W-what're you doing all the way out here?" He scanned around suspiciously. Jeremy shifted his body a bit, purposely blocking John's view of Katherine, resisting the urge to ask exactly where "all the way out here" was. "That's not important...I need to talk to you. Right now," Jeremy insisted. John nodded softly, glancing down at his collection of empty glasses. He felt embarrassed for downing his fears in liquor and getting caught doing so. "Uuuh...sure. I-Is everything okay?" John stammered, trying not to sound as inebriated as he was. Jeremy frowned, "No...someone's in trouble."

John's eyes widened as his mind began to race with possibilities. "Is it Elena? Does she need—?" "—There's no time to explain." Jeremy urged, grasping John's shirt sleeve, pulling him from the table. "We can't talk in here. Let's go outside." "B-but…" John arose shakily, nearly stumbling off his chair. "_Come on_." Jeremy grunted, practically dragging his uncle out of the bar and out to the back alley. He could feel Katherine's eyes on him, almost feel her smirk as he went. "Jeremy, my coat…my wallet…I left them inside…" John complained. "Forget that. We have bigger problems," Jeremy reminded him, turning to face John when they were out of sight of the other bar-goers.

"Hey…I'm out here. Now tell me, who's in trouble?" John sighed. Jeremy frowned deeply, staring John in the eyes. "…you." John furrowed his brows, perplexed. He scratched his head, wishing he hadn't left the comfort of the bar. "Me? What do you mean? I-I don't…Jeremy can you just tell me what's going on?" Jeremy nodded, looking at John coldly. "You're the one who's in trouble, John…I know what you did." John sighed, subconsciously glancing down at the bandage covering the knuckle remaining from when Katherine had cleaved his finger off in the Gilbert kitchen. "_I don't know what you mean_," he murmured. "Anna…you found out what she was…and you killed her because of it. You didn't care that she was good," Jeremy inched closer, cornering John against the brick wall behind him. John looked up, meeting Jeremy's eyes. "Jeremy," he sighed. "I…I just wanted to protect you…there's no such thing as a _good_ vampire…"

"So…you admit it?" Jeremy scoffed, clenching his jaw. "_You killed Anna_…" John shook his head slowly, "Jeremy…I had to…" "Don't lie to me!"Jeremy growled, feeling his blood boil under his skin. "I'm tired of people lying to me and thinking they can get away with it!" John frowned, trying to argue back. "I _had _to kill her Jeremy! She was corrupting your mind! Making you think you wanted to be like her! I saved you from that!" "NO!" Jeremy lunged at John, shoving him hard into the wall. "I LOVED HER! YOU TOOK HER FROM ME FOR NO REASON!" John gasped, shocked by the sudden burst of Jeremy's aggression. "Uh…Jeremy…please, calm down…" "_I hate you for this_…" Jeremy seethed, moving in close to John, not giving him room to escape. "_It's just too bad you're not gonna live long enough to really regret what you did_."

John stared at Jeremy, frozen. He opened his mouth to defend himself, to try to talk Jeremy down but only a shocked gasp escaped his throat as he watched Jeremy's features transform. His eyes darted around the alley, frantically looking for an exit route, knowing he didn't have his invincibility ring to protect him anymore. "_Jeremy, how did this happen to you? …p-please_…" he croaked, trying to shield himself. Jeremy scowled hard, exposing his fangs, letting John see what scared him the most. Continuing to advance, he uttered one last condemnation, "_When Anna said "please"…did that stop you?_" John just looked at him, silently begging for his life to be spared. Jeremy felt the tiniest twinge of remorse but then he pictured Anna's angelic face and remembered that he'd never see it again because of John. He seized John's shoulders, pinning him against the wall and attacked, sinking his teeth into John's throat, drinking deeply.

It wasn't the sound of John's cry of anguish that made Jeremy reel back suddenly; but the horrible sensation in his body, the taste of poison on his tongue. Jeremy jerked back from John, buckling at his knees, clutching his throat, choking; sputtering John's tainted blood from his lips. "Vervain, John? Really? That's your best defense?"

Jeremy could hear Katherine's taunting approach as he struggled to catch his breath, the word "vervain" sticking out to him as the reason for his violent reaction. John turned pale, covering his wound, edging away from the wall, stumbling, both drunk and weak. "_K-Kath_—" "Katherine…," She nodded, slowly approaching him, smirking. "You look surprised to see me…again." John whimpered pitifully, backing away. "_You…you can't…I have vervain…it_—" "—_it _tastes kind of…tangy…," she grinned devilishly, turning before John's eyes.

"After years of building a tolerance for it…I actually kind of like it." John shrunk back in horror as Katherine sprung at him, biting down on the other side of his throat, picking up where Jeremy left off. Jeremy coughed a bit, still feeling ill from the vervain in his system, but sitting up enough to see Katherine exact his revenge for him. He wished it could've been him, finishing the job, but it gave him an eerie satisfaction all the same to watch John suffer.


	13. Chapter 13

"_Our kiss?_" Elena murmured, tilting her head slightly. Damon nodded softly, hoping Elena was coming around, ready to admit what they shared. Instead, she furrowed her brows and pursed her lips with irritation. "Jeremy's missing, Damon…how could you do this? Why—?" she trailed off, shaking her head with disgust. Damon arched his brow, confused over her reaction. "I know this isn't the right time, but guess what…there's never gonna be a right time to talk about this. So why not now?"

Elena frowned deeply. "I don't know what you're thinking…maybe you're drunk, "she shrugged, then folded her arms tightly across her chest, stepping back from him. "…but I never kissed you, Damon. Never. And you're right…this isn't the right time." Damon shook his head, approaching her again. "Elena…I'm not drunk…I know what happened, right here on this porch…I _know _we kissed. If you want to keep denying it—"

"Stop it!" Elena snapped, cutting Damon off. "I don't know who you kissed…but it wasn't me. And I appreciate you trying to help with Jeremy…but I think you should let me and Stefan handle the search for a while." Damon sighed heavily, regretting his attempt to have an honest talk with her, since she was clearly in deep denial. "Elena…I'm sorry—" Elena simply lifted her hand to cut him off again and sighed, "You're right…it's not safe out here. I'm going back inside. And _you're _going home." Before Damon could protest, Elena had turned on her heel and disappeared behind the front door of her house. They both knew he could've followed her, but he decided against it. Instead, he headed for the boarding house, disappointed that the Elena he just spoke to and the Elena he had kissed on Founder's Day night didn't seem to be the same girl.

0000

Jeremy groaned a little, stirring awake in the backseat of the car he and Katherine had been driven to the bar in earlier. He didn't remember getting there or buckling himself into the seat either. "So, a little taste of vervain and you're down for the count? That's just sad…" Katherine's voice mocked him from the next seat over. He pouted, turning toward her a little. "You knew he'd had vervain in his blood?" She just smiled carelessly and shrugged. "John? There was a good chance. In any case, I couldn't deprive you of the first bite." Jeremy slouched down in his seat, just noticing that the car was moving again. He rubbed his face, feeling drowsy. "A warning would've been nice…that felt like my insides were on fire." Katherine scoffed, "And if I had warned you, you wouldn't have been so eager to do the job. Besides…" She reached over and playfully tousled Jeremy's hair. "Now you know what to expect from anyone else who's consumed the stuff. You can be smarter about your kills…well, if you being smarter is at all possible."

He rolled his eyes, leaning away from her grasp. "So…he's dead then?" Katherine nodded, pulling her hand back from him, folding her arms. "Yep. Dead and not coming back this time." Jeremy nodded softly, satisfied with this knowledge. "Good," he sighed, shutting his eyes, trying to relax, not really caring where they were headed now.

"Oh," Katherine nudged his arm, forcing him to open his eyes and take notice of her. "This is for you." Jeremy watched her with curiosity as she reached into her pocket and offered him a silver and black band. "What is that?" He asked, hesitant to try to take it from her. She rolled her eyes at his hesitation, thrusting the ring into his hand. "Consider it a token of appreciation…or trust…or whatever." Jeremy pulled himself to sit up more in his seat, quietly inspecting every inch of the ring. "I don't understand…" he looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

She simply smiled and teased, "You're no longer under dark basement arrest…put that ring on and you won't burst into flames in the sun. Need further elaboration?" "This is my talisman?" Jeremy smiled just a little, quickly sliding the ring onto his finger. Katherine shrugged, eyeing him menacingly. "_Strings are attached_, _Jeremy. If you betray me, I will forcibly remove that ring from your finger and drop you off at the beach on a bright, sunny day_…" He nodded quietly, indicating that he understood. Katherine nodded too, settling back into her seat, closing her eyes to relax now. "But for now…yes, that's your talisman. Don't make me regret giving it to you."

Jeremy stared down at his hand, admiring his gift, relieved that he could move around as he wished. He nodded to himself, deciding that Katherine wasn't someone that he'd cross. Katherine was someone who'd help him. She was rough around the edge and cruel most of the time, but at least she was honest about it. "_You won't regret it, Katherine._"


	14. Chapter 14

"Okay, get out."

Jeremy smirked, shaking his head at Katherine as their driver pulled over on the side of the road, just inside the city limits of Mystic Falls. "I was just kidding…really, I'll shut up now." He folded his arms and sat tight, figuring Katherine was teasing him, getting tired of his sarcastic responses to everything she said. She looked at him sternly. "I'm _not_ kidding," she informed him, leaning over and pressing the automatic unlock button on his door. "Out."

Jeremy glanced out of his window then looked at Katherine, confused. "Why are we back here? Why're you kicking me out? I promise, I'll be quiet." Katherine shook her head. "Relax. I just need you to go back home for a little while. People are bound to be looking for you. We don't need that kind of attention. Go home." Jeremy furrowed his brows, defiantly remaining in his seat. "I don't want to go back there," he sulked.

"I know you don't," Katherine nodded, looking at him with just an ounce of compassion. "I wouldn't either, if I were you." She shrugged, quickly pushing aside any sentimentality for him. "_However_, it's best if people think nothing's changed. You need to go home and not let on that anything's different. No talking about me or your new life…"

"Why not? Don't you want to see the shocked looks on their faces?" Jeremy argued. Katherine smiled softly. "Trust me…I anticipate that moment. But for now, I need you to do what I say." Jeremy sighed, not wanting to argue, since he knew better than to think he could win. "Fine…can't you at least drop me off closer to home?"

Katherine smirked, reaching into the armchair compartment, offering him a handful of change. "Sorry, I have things to do on the other side of town. There's a bus stop over there though. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Jeremy rolled his eyes, accepting the change. "I guess I have to…" he pushed the car door open but hesitated to get out. "And where will you be? Where can I find you?"

Katherine shrugged lightly, being vague. "I'll be around. I'll find you. I managed to before, didn't I?" Jeremy nodded softly, reluctantly climbing out of the car, shielding his face from the mid-morning sun. "You sure this ring's gonna work, right?" Katherine grinned wickedly, leaning close, resting her hand on the door handle. "Only one way to find out," she teased, waving at him and pulling the car door shut. Jeremy pulled back quickly, avoiding a spray of roadside pebbles. He watched the car speed off, hoping he wasn't wrong to trust her, curious to know what she was up to.

One bus and a 10 minute walk later, Jeremy arrived back home. He sighed to himself as he walked up the porch steps, not wanting to be there at all. He realized he'd lost his house keys and wallet somewhere between his bedroom and wherever Katherine had taken him, probably his cell phone too. He tried the front door; it was locked. He frowned, not seeing Jenna's or Alaric's cars out on the street. As a last resort, he just rang the doorbell, hoping someone was home.

000

Moping around in the living room, too worried about Jeremy to go out, Elena heard the door bell ring. She got up from the couch quickly, eager to assume it could be Jeremy. She hurried to the front door and unlocked it, smiling wide when she saw him on the porch. "Oh my God, Jeremy! You're okay!" She flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He hugged her back weakly, not as excited to see her. "I could really use a shower though, so…" Elena nodded, trying to compose herself. "Oh right, okay…" She stepped back into the house, moving aside to let Jeremy in. He almost took a step forward, until he realized he couldn't enter without being invited now. He quietly put his hands into his pockets, trying to think of a way to get Elena to invite him without tipping her off. She looked at him curiously. "What're you waiting for?"

He smiled a little more, replying with his usual hint of sarcasm. "An invitation, maybe…?" Elena rolled her eyes and obliged him, not knowing what she was really doing. "Jeremy_, please_ come in?" He nodded softly, stepping over the threshold with ease. He pulled the front door closed behind him and turned to head upstairs. Elena eyed him incredulously, following him. "Whoa, whoa…wait a minute. Where've you been? Why didn't you call?" Jeremy sighed, glancing over his shoulder at her, "I was out with friends…I lost track of time…and my phone…"

"It's been _two days _though," Elena wrinkled her nose, looking him over. "And have you been wearing those same clothes since the other day?" Jeremy glanced down at his disheveled clothes, grateful that they were black and therefore hid the dried blood stains well. "Uh…I guess, yeah." He nodded, continuing to the stairs. "I really gotta hit that shower. Can we talk later, Elena?" Elena sighed and shrugged, staring after him. "…um…yeah, but we definitely _need_ to talk, okay? No disappearing…"

"Mmhm." Jeremy nodded, heading up the stairs, only half-listening to her. Elena just stood there at the bottom of the steps, wondering what was going on in Jeremy's head. How could he think it was okay to just stay out for two days and not let anyone know where he was? How long was he going to act up like this? She sighed deeply, heading back to the couch, dialing Stefan on her cell phone to call off the search.


	15. Chapter 15

Stepping into the bathroom, Jeremy quickly locked the door behind him. He shuddered a bit, hearing the typically soft click of the lock resound so loudly in his sensitive ears. There was still so much to get used to, with his heightened vampire senses. It was thrilling and scary, all at the same time.

Pacing toward the shower, Jeremy peeled off his dirty, blood-encrusted clothes. He ran his fingertips along the stained spots, trying to determine how much of them consisted of his blood or someone else's. Tossing the clothes into the laundry hamper under the sink, he figured it didn't matter. He'd kill at least one person, and another, though indirectly. He had chosen his path. It wouldn't help to dwell on every little blood spatter. Every corpse. Every morsel of food.

It was getting easier not to feel, Jeremy noticed. If anything he felt calm. More in control. No longer at the mercy of others who could hurt him.

He showered quickly, putting the water on the warmest setting possible. He watched as his chest turned red from the scalding temperature of the water beating down against it. He was burning himself without meaning to; he could barely even feel the heat. Returning the water to a more appropriate temperature, he healed, the burns dissipated, leaving his skin flawless once more. Shutting off the water once he was clean, he got out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. The warmth was almost completely gone from his own body. He hadn't realized that until now.

As he dried off, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was paler than usual, but given how little time he spent outdoors in direct sunlight, that wouldn't shock anybody. Jeremy did notice that something really had changed about him. His features were…more. More defined. More magnificent. His hair was smoother and shinier. His skin was clear of blemishes. His muscles were distinct under his skin, even without him flexing. He felt an abundance of confidence that he'd never felt before. He smiled in satisfaction, tossing his towel in the hamper, admiring his naked form. This was the new and improved Jeremy Gilbert. He was going to enjoy his new body. His gift of new life.

000000

"So…he just came back? No explanation of where he's been or who he's been with?" Stefan inquired, sliding his arm around Elena's shoulder, leading her to sit on the living room couch later than evening. "Well, no. He just said he was with friends and that he lost track of time," Elena replied, looking at Stefan, nervously biting her lip. "I know I should've pressed him for information but I was just so happy to see him back. I didn't want him to run off again."

Stefan smiled softly, hugging her side. "I wasn't judging." He assured her, lightly pecking the top of her head. "Maybe it's good for you to give each other a little space right now. He'll talk when he's ready?"

"-Or, here's a better plan…"

Elena rolled her eyes, hearing Damon's voice from the entryway. "I should really learn to lock that door." She murmured, continuing to the couch with Stefan.

"Like I was saying…" Damon continued, ignoring Elena's remark, determined to hide his jealousy over Stefan's affectionate embrace with Elena as he followed them. "If I were you, I'd go up there and shake that kid until he talked."

"Because that'd work, so well, Damon?" Stefan scoffed, shaking his head. "Don't get involved."

Damon shrugged Stefan's warning off, looking to Elena for her reaction. "Please. Just leave it alone." She said, siding with her boyfriend, cuddling up to his side on the couch cushion.

"Fine," Damon sighed, folding his arms, hovering by the armchair. "Let him walk all over you guys. I'll be waiting to say 'I told you so' when the time is right."

"Thanks Damon. What I could really use right now is your never-ending pessimism." Elena mocked, gently pulling out of Stefan's embrace, getting up from the couch. Stefan shot Damon a look that begged the question, _why couldn't you just let it go?_. Damon sighed, averting his eyes from his judgmental brother's. "Excuse me, I'm going to go check on my delinquent brother…and not shake him," Elena quipped, brushing by Damon on her way to the staircase, heading up to see if Jeremy wanted anything to eat for dinner.


	16. Chapter 16

Jeremy tightened the drawstrings on his sweatpants, peeling his bedcovers back to lie down for a bit after his shower. He felt tired all of the sudden. Drained. He knew what he needed but he wanted to stay put and wait until Katherine came calling. She'd be pissed if he made a move without her. He knew it. He didn't care to invoke her wrath, since he was so new and vulnerable still.

He smirked a little, sliding his legs underneath the bed-sheets, getting comfortable. To think, he wanted blood. Human blood! That's what he craved now. And would crave for the rest of his life…or something to that effect. Pulling the covers up over his bare chest, Anna briefly floated to his thoughts then disappeared in a flash. This time he smiled, thinking of her, no longer feeling all that misery and pain he'd held onto after her unjust death. He owed her thanks. For the gift of her eternal wine. He couldn't thank her, of course. But he had Katherine now. She'd show him the way. He was grateful for her. No matter what her secret motives were. They didn't concern him for the time being. With a relaxed grin on his lips, Jeremy closed his eyes and settled on his pillow, the coolness of it, comforting his equally cool skin.

Everything went black. Silent. Peaceful. His chest barely rose and fell underneath the sheets, as he didn't need to respire any more, and did so merely out of habit more than anything.

He didn't hear when Elena ascended the stairs and knocked on his bedroom door. Or when she peeked into his room, her brows perplexedly furrowing at him for being in bed before it was even late. He was dead. To the world. Literally.

"Jeremy?" She called, her voice lightly caressing the micro-hairs inside the shell of his ear as she approached his bed. "Hey, Jeremy..?" She persisted, stopping at his bedside, leaning over him to check if he was actually asleep or just pretending so he could ignore her. Not seeing him stir even in the slightest, she extended her arm, reaching her hand toward his shoulder. "…You okay?"

Jeremy's eyes flitted underneath his eyelids, itching as they pooled with crimson hue. His body remained still. The heat of Elena's fingertips, though a few inches away, aroused all of the tiny hairs stemming from his arm, setting off a sensor.

Warm Blood. Sliding through untapped veins. Food.

"_Jer?"_ Her index finger grazed the outside of his shoulder and his body reacted, instinctively. Snapping up in bed, his hand sprung out and his fingers wrapped around her slender wrist, clutching to her tight. His eyes opened wide, quickly locating his prey. His fangs poked through his gums, hiding just beneath the curve of his upper lip. Ready to bite.

Elena's eyes widened, looking upon him, shocked by his inhumanly fast reflex. She screamed.


End file.
